We have just become aware that exhaust gasses are leaking into the passenger compartment and apparently have been for some time, causing headaches, dizziness and eye irritation. We located a tsb from ford (tsb 16-0166) relating to the issue and became aware that ford had offered to fix the issue. Both the center for auto safety and the federal safety agency investigated this issue resulting in ford notifying owners of potentially affected vehicles offering to fix the issue for free. I never received a letter, and when I called the ford customer service line I was told that my vehicle's VIN was not affected. With the leakage of the exhaust into the cabin I've earned the right to call bs. This is not the type of defect that will repair itself and presents a clear and present risk of serious injury or death, as evidenced by the multiple reports of crashes. This should never have been allowed to be swept under the rug and warrants a recall and inspection/repair of every vehicle in the category. Date below is the date that we took it in to the ford dealership for diagnosis and repair, but the effects have been noticed for several weeks.
2013 Ford Explorer body complaints
Page 11 of 16: complaints 281 to 310 of 439, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2013 ford explorer with hood paint bubbling and peeling. I notice a while back and thought it was just a rock that hit the hood. Now it peeling really bad and cracking and peeling. There needs to be a recall cause so many clients are having the same issue.
When idling cabin fills up with what appears to be smoke from mufflers. Fell asleep in the car while idling, woke up dizzy and thru up shortly after, strong headache after. Rust around the lock on the trunk lid.
Initial complaint to ford dealership re: exhaust odors in cabin, possibly related to use of air conditioning (inspected 5/4/16, mileage 47,450, no repairs completed). Performance recall 17no3 completed 10/22/18. Exhaust odors worse after recall. Ford dealership inspected again on 10/30/18. Recommended using recirculation of cabin air at all times. Air conditioning has since stopped working. Per dealership rear A/C lines now need replacement, ext. Cost of $2,100. Cabin exhaust odors continue and inside of windshield is fogging. Odors worse when stopped at stoplights. Multiple occasions of co detection in cabin while in motion in rural areas. Elevated cohb with various health symptoms and children now complaining of car sickness. Various areas of rust also reported to dealership and new areas appearing (I.e. Near drain vales of the liftgate). *dt
Windshield inner and outer trim seals have failed on both sides of windshield .vehicle only has 72000 miles. Rubber has disintegrated. Trim coming loose on vehicle while driving.
Smell of smoke, and tapping noise prior to fire. Smoke came from near the center console between driver and passenger seat. Fire started. Made a complaint prior about smell of smoke and noise.
2013 ford explorer, front (hood) is deteriorating, and holes in the metal are starting to rot thru paint is peeling and getting worse. My body and fender man tells me it can also affect the spring loaded and locking device of the hood, which in time can cause a failure of the hood being dislodged and blocking your vision. He also explained this is a problem with ford products and there really is no fix. They hoods are aluminum and are installed on a steel body. Its not the paint job, its a dissimilar metal issue that only can be corrected by installing a new hood. I now understand this is a problem with a lot of ford products. Help
Pillars flying off car and power transfer unit not working
Over the past year or so, the paint on the hood of my explorer has been bubbling and peeling along the perimeter. We brought it to our local ford dealership. They took pictures and contacted the ford headquarters. The local dealership was told, because my vehicle is no longer under warranty, they can't help. As I researched the issue to see if others were having the same problem, I found many complaints, lawsuits pending, and articles written about this same issue. I went through the proper channels, contacted ford customer service online and through messenger, but still have been told it is not ford's fault. I take very good care of my vehicles and have always purchased vehicles from ford. My 2013 ford explorer looks like new from the inside. The outside looks fine, as well, except the hideous hood perimeter. The hood is embarrassing, period. I don't deserve the poor service I am getting from the entire ford company. The fact that it is no longer under warrantly shouldn't matter with this issue. The paint should not be bubbling and peeling like this. Someone at ford is to blame or whoever is in charge of the hood/paint/material to make the hood. I will keep fighting until ford pays to have my hood redone. I have contacted zestar, the ford ceo, president, etc. And a detroit free press journalist who wrote about ford's transimission deceitful coverup. I am not asking for anything more than to have the hood of my car fixed. This is ridiculous. **in the uploaded file below, it asks for a date in which this occurred. I do not have an exact date. It has been ongoing and is obviously getting worse as time goes on.
I am writing this letter in regards to my 2013 ford explorer xlt. I've noticed a fast acting paint flaw that is growing in criticality, and is growing increasingly frustrating each day! When I purchased the vehicle, this was not recognizable to the eye obviously, as I wouldn't have purchased the vehicle otherwise. Currently, the paint is bubbling up around the entire edge of the hood. On 7/14 one of those bubbles of paint flaked off, which will now lead to other major issues with the paint and look of, not only the hood, but essentially the entire car. At this point I've been forced to discontinue taking this vehicle through the car wash (touch or no touch), as more paint will flake off. Not only that, I avoid the areas when I wash and wax the vehicle by hand. If what ford's slogan rings true (built ford tough), then I must say, that I'm perfectly fine with doing business elsewhere, as this paint job is far from tough, it's rough! I pride myself in being a hard working consumer, and when I take the plunge to spend this amount of money to purchase a product, I want to step back and be proud of it, and the hard work that it took to be in a position to make this kind of purchasing decision. I would also expect a sense of pride from the company's perspective to stand by your product, and that is precisely why I'm writing this complaint letter.
Takara recall the hood of my 2013 ford explorer has a corrosion on it. Paint is peeling and bubbling. The aluminum has a powder look to it and is week. After time hood could come unlatched do to aluminum corrosion. Ford is aware of problem but won't fix out side of 3/36000 mile warranty.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel suddenly became very difficult to turn in either direction. The failure occurred on multiple occasions and the fuse was reinserted in order to repair the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Also, while driving, the passenger side of the vehicle wobbled and vibrated. The vehicle was taken to bill flick ford (737 north freeway service rd, huntsville, tx) where it was diagnosed that the suspension was faulty. The vehicle was repaired. Furthermore, while operating the vehicle, the door ajar warning message erroneously displayed, the interior dome light remained illuminated, and the doors would not lock. The cause of the failures was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 800.
I have two complains about this auto 1) car paint in the hood looks bubbly and some is pealing. 2)inside the passenger door the fabric reaped below where the windows and door buttons are located.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While driving at an unknown speed, the windshield molding detached. The vehicle was taken to fritts ford (located at 8000 auto dr, riverside, ca 92504, (951) 687-2121) and was informed that the molding needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Pealing paint on hood which has expanded across hood since purchased in 2014, ford motor company refused to do anything at that time.
As I was driving on the highway, I heard a loud noise and thought that something hit my windshield. When I was able to stop and examine my vehicle, it became obvious that a large piece of the passenger side windshield molding broke off and the rubber stripping underneath that part came loose as well. I also found that a small piece of windshield molding broke off on the driver's side as well. I thought it might be an isolated incident, however, when we checked online for replacement parts we noticed that there were hundreds upon hundreds of purchases made for these particular parts. They are not cheap and if there are so many of these parts failing/breaking why hasn't ford done something about it before a breaking part hits another vehicle or causes an accident? I also have first-hand knowledge that a friend of mine is experiencing a very similar problem and when his rubber came loose, flapping around as mine did, it was enough of a distraction that he almost had an accident. I have two repair estimates and will be happy to provide them upon request.
My 2013 explorer had come bubbles coming up along the edge of the hood. I thought it was a body work issue but the body shop said it is actually corrosion from the aluminum hood. The corrosion is progressing and getting worse. This will eventually leave my hood structurally unsound and expose all the internal components to the elements for degradation.
I noticed the outside trim around the sides of the windshield appeared loose on the driver but mostly passenger side of my car. A few weeks later when I started driving over 10 MPH down the road, I heard a noise like something beating against my windshield. I noticed the rubber seal around the windshield and between the trim and the windshield had come off and was flapping in the wind against my windshield and car. The body trim is now loose as well. I had a little water even leak into the car. It was very distracting and almost caused my wreck. I had to temporarily tape the rubber trim down as it keeps coming loose and gets worse as you drive (which you have no choice when you are not close to home or can't get your vehicle in for repairs until weeks later).
Water leak in back of vehicle due to a defective manufacturer's welded seam. Every time the vehicle comes in contact with (I.e.: rain, car wash) water leaks heavily into the vehicle through the third row seatbelt hole. The water leaks into vehicle when parked and when driving. Leak was not noticed at onset or when vehicle was still under warranty.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. During inclement weather (heavy rain), water affected the electronic components in the vehicle. Bowditch ford (757‑595‑2211, located at 11291 jefferson ave, newport news, va 23601) kept the vehicle for several days for diagnostic testing. The dealer did not provide an update on the status and the vehicle was not repaired. A second dealer (hall ford newport news, (877) 398-2216, located at 12896 jefferson ave, newport news, va 23608) diagnosed that the water short circuited the switches and the sun roof motor failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
Steering is hard to steer. Feels like you have no power steering. Doesn't happen all the time just when you turn the steering wheel when driving slow. Also paint on the hood peeling off. Took to a garage for the steering and they say it's a known issue but no recall.
Interior of vehicle taking in water from rain showers (not even bad rain showers), water is coming in from the roof where the windshield meets the roof and absorbing around the sunglass holder/interior lights and dripping down onto radio/navigation system and completely soaks the floor board on the driver's side. I've had the door seal replaced recently and the dealer tells me its a different issue, without even evaluating it. At any rate this water coming into the vehicle is a huge issue especially that it's sitting in the car rotting everything out and dripping onto electrical systems threatening the integrity of any electrical or dash operations. I've researched this issue and it seems to be a widespread issue that needs to be addressed on a larger issue. This occurred after sitting in my work parking lot all day then I could also feel it when driving 35-45mph to the dealer.
Oxidizing on front of hood causing the paint to peel
My drivers side door latch failed while I was driving. The caution light came on saying drivers side door not latched and my door started to open. I pulled over and couldn't get the door to latch shut. After working with it it latched so I could get home. The next time I got into my drivers side the same thing, my door would not close. This time I was in my driveway attempting to leave and could not. The latch it still broken, a piece of the handle actually fell off. My car is in excellent condition and well taken care of , kept in a garage , low miles etc. Our friend mentioned their ford having a recall on the door latch. Do not understand why it wasn't implemented on all 2013 explorers.
The inside spare tire wheel well fills with water. This apparently is an engineering issue since I saw things online about it. Mold is an issue with this problem growing on the wheel cover. What is being done to correct this issue
When driving down I-75 headed to work, doing 65 MPH both my windshield trims flew off my car an started making a loud rattling noise. It scared the crap out of me! How has this not been recalled?
Substantial amounts of water is leaking into the interior of the vehicle when parked or in motion. Water intrudes thu the front dome light, the side, the rear seat belt, and other areas. Water was standing in the front passenger seat feet area and it filled the rear spare tire wheel well. Had purchased extended warranty from the ford dealer when I purchased the vehicle. Took it back to the dealer who cleared the two rear drains on the sun roof, but that does not solve the issue. Dealer ran diagnostics in a water closet they have in their shop. Diagnostic report notes "water is found coming in from the tail gate body seams" dealer explained that the seam sealer is applied at the factory during manufacturing prior to the painting. Apparently this factory sealer has failed. Unclear if sealer compound was defective, or was improperly applied. Bottom line is the factory seal has failed, the seams are now compromised resulting in this safety issue. The 3rd party extended warranty that ford sold me is supposed to cover seals and gaskets, but apparently there is fine print deep in the bowels of the contract that excludes body issues even if the root cause is poor materials, poor quality, or workmanship by the manufacturer. Dealer indicated this issue has been observed previously on this model. Simple web searches show a large number of complaints for this and adjacent model years but yet recall yet for the issue. I contacted ford's support line to file a complaint. No resolution as of this writing. Dealer also indicated that the repair would require a body shop.I went to the body shop owned by the dealer and received a preliminary estimate of $738. They emphasized "preliminary" as they're unsure how extensive the seam seal failure may be. This issue not only impacts the safety (water and ice in interior) but also creates a health hazard from mold, mildew, sickening smell.
The front hood paint has bubbled and peeled off the front edge. Appears to have bubbled in more places, now awaiting even more peeling. Obviously a paint defect. Although I will enter a date - it's been a constant defect. (speaking with other ford explorer owners - a common complaint.) #2 also, for several years the car driver door sensor (?) light (hence the ceiling lights) stay on (although the ceiling eventually turns off while driving). This indication that the door is ajar / not closed is frequent and often and has been looked at by the ford dealership in virginia several times - with no repair / fix. It is not constant but frequent.
We recently began smelling a pungent 'sulfur' or 'rotten egg' like smell that comes and goes in the interior cabin of our explorer while driving the vehicle. Typically this seems to occur while or just after driving at freeway speeds/accelerating. We believe this is in line with other instances people have had in explorers of possible exhaust leaks into the interior cabin space of the vehicle. We have 83,000 miles on our 2013 awd 3.5l explorer limited. We took our vehicle to a ford dealer under customer service satisfaction program service # 17n03, but they stated our specific VIN does not apply to this service & thus would not cover that service fix for this issue.
Windshield trim randomly flew off going down the highway st 70 MPH and almost caused an accident behind me.
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